Randomized Trials of the Teen Outreach Program in Louisiana and Rochester, New York.

Objectives: To evaluate the Teen Outreach Program, a pregnancy prevention program, in 2 community-based settings.
Methods: We evaluated the Teen Outreach Program, a 9-month positive youth development program, in 3 cohorts of youths from 2012 to 2015 in 2 states. In Louisiana, 7 agencies participated in an individualized randomized controlled trial, with youths randomly assigned to a treatment or control condition. Fourteen agencies in Rochester, New York, participated in a cluster randomized controlled trial.
Results: We found no differences between the intervention and control youths on delay of sexual onset in Louisiana (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.80; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.62, 1.03) or in Rochester, New York (AOR = 0.89; 95% CI = 0.45, 1.77), or for sex with no effective means of birth control (Louisiana, AOR = 1.18; 95% CI = 0.78, 1.78; Rochester, AOR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.13, 1.27) after controlling for relevant covariates.
Conclusions: We found no short-term effects for the offer of the intervention. Research might be needed for the long-term and intermediate impacts of youth development programs on these and other adolescent risk behaviors.